Advocates for LGBT individualson Monday marched on the White House to denounce a Trump administration proposal to narrowly define gender under federal law.

“I am livid, but clear-headed,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, who spoke during a press conference at the headquarters for the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, D.C., before the march. “We will be here long after this administration is in the trash heap.”

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The New York Times reported on Sunday that Health and Human Services has for months considered defining gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth under Title IX — federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs.

The proposed definition could be submitted to the Justice Department by the end of the year, the Times reported. It would essentially erase federal recognition of and protections for transgender individuals. If approved, other agencies would have to adhere to the definition.

Advocates for transgender individualshave responded on social media with the hashtag #WontBeErased.

Chloe Schwenke, an author, a former Obama political appointee with USAID and a transgender woman, stood outside the White House with other advocates. The U.S. used to be a leader in transgender rights, she said.

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Senior Obama administration officials routinely “asked us, what can we do for you?” Schwenke said.

“Now it’s like, what can we do to you?” said Hilary Howes, a transgender woman and advocate who founded TransCatholic Apostolate, a group that works to support Catholic transgender individuals.

Robyn McCutcheon, who came out as transgender woman in 2010while serving as an American diplomat in Romania, said she still works for the State Department and has drafted a letter of resignation twice.

Friends have convinced her not to quit, she said.

“Many of us are still quietly doing our jobs,“ she said, referring to federal employees who support transgender rights in the U.S. and abroad.

During a press conference at the Human Rights Campaign, advocates stressed that the proposed definition flies in the face of science, medicine and court rulings affirming protections for transgender individuals.

When asked about the proposal by reporters on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said, “We're looking at it. We have a lot of different concepts right now. They have a lot of different things happening with respect to transgender right now. You know that as well as I do and we're looking at it very seriously.“

“I'm protecting everybody,” Trump added.

As the protest outside the White House was underway, HHS spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley said in an email that the Times story was “misleading.”

“We do not comment on alleged, leaked documents that purport to indicate the status of deliberations or the focus of the department,” she said in a statement.

Oakley said the agency is abiding by a December 2016 court order blocking an Obama administration-era rule on gender identity.

“That court found that the Obama administration regulation was overbroad and inconsistent with the text of the 1972 Title IX law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex,” she said. “The court order remains in full force and effect today and HHS is bound by it as we continue to review the issue. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and HHS’s Office for Civil Rights will continue to vigorously enforce all laws as written and passed by Congress, prohibiting discrimination in healthcare on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, and disability.”

The Obama administration interpreted sex-based discrimination under Title IX to include protections against gender identity-based discrimination, including the right of transgender students to access bathrooms and locker rooms in alignment with their gender identity.

In May 2016, the administration issued a directive notifying schools and districts that transgender students must be permitted to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity. Schools had to work with federal investigators to come up with plans to address student complaints over bathroom access and create a more inclusive environment, or face consequences that could include loss of federal funds.

In February 2017, the Trump administrationrescinded that Obama directive, saying it had “given rise to significant litigation” and required further study. Conservatives argued that the Obama administration sought to unilaterally rewrite Title IX to include protections against gender identity discrimination.

Since then, civil rights officials at the Education Department have stopped investigating complaints filed by transgender students seeking to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity. The Trump administration is also investigatingwhether a Georgia school district’s policy allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice led to the sexual assault of a 5-year-old girl.